MORGANTOWN – Gov. Jim Justice Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine coming to West Virginia, and again joined with his team to urge more vaccines and boosters as new surges appear on the horizon.
Justice said that 92.2% of the state’s 5,114 COVID-related deaths were unvaccinated. Among the 643 hospitalized, only 18.4% are vaccinated while only 13.2% of those on ventilators are vaccinated. That means the proportion of unvaccinated in hospitals is growing.
“These numbers right here tell us we are making progress about getting our booster shots out and getting our people vaccinated, because it was going the other way,” he said. At one point, the proportion of vaccinated in hospitals was about 24%.
COVID-19 Czar Clay Marsh said U.S. COVID deaths have passed 800,000, while one out 100 people age 65 and older have died of COVID. And despite the emergence of the vaccines, there have been more COVID deaths in 2021 than in 2020: 405,000 so far this year, compared t0 385,000 in 2020.
Many states are struggling with hospital admissions exceeding their highest levels, he said. Young people aren’t getting vaccinated quickly enough and older people need their boosters.
“We are looking right in the face of another surge here in West Virginia,” he said – initially from delta cases, followed by omicron cases when that variant comes to the state. Omicron cases are doubling in the United Kingdom every two days and will soon overtake delta cases. About half of U.S. states have seen omicron cases.
And while it’s proven somewhat less severe in South Africa, he said, that population is younger and healthier, while West Virginia is older and sicker. And South Africa has seen an increase in hospitalizations among those under 18 from omicron infections. Also, omicron can reinfect those who’ve had COVID before.
While most people are focused on COVID, Public Health Commissioner Ayne Amjad urged residents to also get the flu vaccine. So far this year, only 17% of residents have received one, compared to 44% at the same time last year. The flu vaccine in needed annually and reduces hospitalizations from flu infections.
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